A Step in the Right Direction
by badomens
Summary: It had been weeks since his confession, but the awkward tension between them hadn't eased. Part 3 of the Screaming Infidelities set of stories. FlynnXYuri, EstelleXRita. College AU.


Author's Notes: The college au continues! Because I have forgotten that I have these.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

* * *

It was a warm spring day when Estelle announced what she wanted for her birthday. Flynn had almost completely forgotten that her birthday was so close, but acted nonchalant about it. Anything she ever asked for, when she asked, was within reason and easily done.

"I want you both to come to the Sock Hop with me and Rita."

"Sock Hop?

"More accurately, it's a 1950's themed dance at the school on Friday that the Student Council is using as a charity event for the Can Town Collective. They're a group that works locally to feed and shelter the homeless. We're collecting canned and nonperishable goods." Although Estelle lived a life of luxury and had never known a day of hardship in her life, she was overwhelmingly kind and giving. If anyone ever asked anything of her, she gave it her best and her all, and the Student Council, where she held the position of vice president, was no exception.

"Parties like that aren't really my thing," Yuri started, but the moment the hint of a frown crossed her face, he amended his statement, "But for your birthday I think I can manage."

"Will you go, Flynn?"

"Of course."

"Great!" The brightness of her smile could cheer up nearly anybody, including the prickly freshman honors student, Rita, who was often her constant companion. "I know it's supposed to be a party, but would you mind helping out a little with putting up the decorations and things like that? We had a few of the council members who had to back out of volunteering at the last minute."

"Sure thing."

"Thank you both so much! You don't know what this means to me." She stood and gathered up the remains of her lunch and her book bag. "I've got to go. Rita's waiting for me. Would you both meet me in the Student Center Friday at six?"

As soon as they assured her that they would be there, she thanked them again and flew off, leaving only himself and Yuri.

They didn't talk much. They had been in each other's company few times since the incident a week before where Flynn had retrieved one of Yuri's missing shoes, but these were near silent drives to and from school. If they were not silent, it was Yuri fiddling with the radio and singing along with the snippets of songs as he passed. Yes, his hard work had been a step in the right direction, but he needed another. There was still an impasse between them, and he had lain awake more than one night thinking of how to overcome it. Perhaps he was over thinking it entirely.

Yuri rummaged around in the lunch bag, which he almost always packed. He found that it was in part to the fact that Yuri was frugal. After a second of tossing the remains of the bag around, he pulled out an apple and sunk his teeth in.

When he was studying, his whole demeanor changed. People accused Yuri of being lazy, but that wasn't the case. When he studied, and when it was something important or that he carried about, he was tremendously focused. He plopped his history book out in front of him, and pulled his knees up to his chest, rocking slightly to read the book in front of him. He chomped away at the apple, flipping pages as he read.

"Hey, did you want to get some studying in at the library tonight?"

Yuri said nothing. Flynn was unsure if he was being ignored or if Yuri was simply focused on his studies and didn't hear him.

Then it hit him. Not long ago, he would have known one for the other, but he didn't now. Had that week of silence between them after Yuri's confession really been so detrimental to their relationship that Flynn had lost the ability to read his best friend?

There was a subtext in every motion that he had never noticed before, or was that his imagination? Was he reading too much into things, or not reading them right at all? Where was the dividing line between Yuri, his childhood friend, and Yuri, who he had confessed his feelings to only a couple of weeks earlier? Where did one end and the other begin? Or were they one entity all together? And how did he interact with them? Somewhere in the past two weeks, Flynn had forgotten how to be Yuri's friend. Was it the same for him? None of these questions had answers, and that was vexing.

Flynn leaned over slightly and touched Yuri's arm.

That got his attention as he flinched backward and looked straight at Flynn with a look he couldn't recall ever seeing. It wasn't a happy one.

"What?" He looked and sounded almost surprised.

"I asked if you wanted to hit the library tonight to study."

"Oh." He relaxed a little. "I can't. I've got a third shift." It sounded like an excuse, but Flynn let it slide. He couldn't force Yuri to hang out with him, especially when he had to work to support himself. At the same time, they were never going to get anywhere like this. They seemed to still be feeling each other out.

"Look, Yuri-"

"Shit. We're going to be late for class." Yuri shoved his books into his backpack and then scrambled to stand up out of the grass.

Flynn jolted up, gathered his own schoolbooks and they were off.

* * *

The rest of the week didn't fare much better. Every time he suggested that they get together to do something -_anything_- Yuri had an excuse. It didn't take long for Flynn to start feeling like Yuri was avoiding him. He hated it. It hurt.

Finally Friday arrived. It was dark and grey, a spring thundershower threatening to start at any moment and Flynn showed up at the Student Center dressed in nice slacks, a button up shirt, and a blue and white sports jacket. As soon as he got there to help, he was given some petty cash and a list and sent to buy decorations. He managed to ask where Yuri was, as he hadn't ridden along with Flynn to school that day. Estelle told him that Yuri was working hard to get the concession table up and running. With that knowledge, he went to the party store as instructed.

Estelle's lists were even more precise that Yuri's. She listed color and brands, features and prices. She didn't want just any green streamer. She wanted the party store brand, radioactive green, seventy-nine cent streamers. Two packs. She was thorough. She had even calculated what the total would be with tax and given him that to the exact cent.

Flynn hurried back to the school, numerous bags slung on his arms. Estelle was quick to help him, and together with the aid of a ladder, they hung the gray and green decorations all over the Student Center. They set up donation boxes for canned goods that would be the admission to get in. The sky that had been dark grey all day finally broke out into a light drizzle of rain, and they sincerely hoped that it wouldn't keep the event from being a success.

Estelle had certainly dressed the part. She wore a big, puffy poodle skirt and matching neckerchief that were the same shade of pink as her hair, a white button down blouse and pink and white sneakers. Her hair was pulled up in a short, neat ponytail. Overall, the whole outfit increased her already cute demeanor even further. But the one that Flynn was paying attention to was not Estelle.

Out of the corner of his eyes as he bustled around, Flynn caught glimpses of Yuri, busy with his own work. He wore a white t-shirt that was a size too small and accentuated his lean form. The sleeves were rolled up over his shoulders and a shiny leather jacket sat in a nearby char. Flynn assumed that was his also. He wore a pair of torn and cut up blue jeans, and his long hair was thrown up in a messy, pony-bun, the tail of which lay lazily against the top of his head. And his audaciously red sneakers topped the look off.

Flynn was left wondering upon seeing those sneakers: Why had he gone to retrieve the one? Had it been because he loved Yuri? Or simply because they were friends? He didn't regret having gotten it back, but he had never questioned his motives behind it. And now that he was questioning it, he couldn't tell. Had he known in that moment why he had done it? Or was it impulse?

"Yuri really dressed the part of a greaser." Estelle snapped him out of his thoughtful back and forth as she handed him up a bundle of balloons. "Doesn't he look great?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Are you all right, Flynn?"

"I'm fine. Sorry. I was just a little distracted."

"I'm sorry that I've worked you so hard. But we're almost done and then we can have some fun."

"It's okay. All this is for a good cause. Besides, it's what you wanted for your birthday."

"Thank you." She mounted the first step of the ladder and watched as he taped up that set and then prepared another to give him. It was that time that Yuri headed in their direction.

"Food's all set up and ready to go."

"Thank you so much."

"No big deal."

"Oh! Rita's here!" Estelle hopped off the ladder and waved vigorously at the brunette who walked into the Student Center through a side door.

The short girl stiffened, stopping briefly, and then approached them. She was dressed as a greaser also, with a denim skit and a short smoking jacket over a red blouse.

"Rita, you look so cute!"

"N-no I don't!" She stammered, her face flushed. "You look much cuter."

Yuri snickered, tucking his hands behind his head as if he knew something no one else did, and dodged getting swatted. Rita tried a second time, but he ducked behind the ladder and she didn't pursue him further, mostly at Estelle's urging. She instead turned their attention to the arrival of guests, and she and Rita scurried to the front to take the admission donations. Yuri moved to work concessions, and Flynn was left dithering for a moment, unsure what he should be doing.

"Flynn, could you run coat check?" Estelle called back to him. Given a task and a purpose, he bounded into action.

Nearly an hour went by before all the guests had appeared to have arrived and they were chatting, wearing outfits similar to Estelle's and Yuri's. They had been along Yuri's concession table and were enjoying themselves on the feast of finger foods he had managed to serve up.

The guests wasted no time in dancing, some of them so long and hard that they eventually just took their shoes off and danced in their socks. Flynn supposed that was how the dance got its name. After much dancing was done, announcements were made and people rewarded for their hard work and dedication to the charity. A special thanks was given to the Student Council, especially Estelle, who arranged the event. And as quickly as it all happened, it was over.

Flynn returned the very last coat to its owner and was glad to see the last of the straggling guest leave. Representatives for the Can Town Collective came and took away boxes of donated goods. They thanked Estelle again and they were left to clean up the mess with a few other Student Council members.

Streamers came down and balloons were popped, something that Yuri found much too much glee in. Leftovers were packed up and the floors swept. Estelle sent the other two council members home for the night as they were finishing up. Yuri disappeared for a few moments when he should have been helping Flynn move the tables back into place.

Instead, he returned with a huge, triple tier cake decorated in swirls and dots of pink, white, and gold frosting. Estelle's eyes lit up as soon as she saw it and there were no doubts about the reason it was here.

"Happy birthday, Estelle." Yuri set the cake down on the table where the concessions had been and brandished a plastic cake-serving knife.

"Oh, Yuri! Did you make this?"

"Sure did!"

"It's beautiful! You shouldn't have." She pulled out her phone and handed it to him. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all." He took it from her and gave her a moment to pose beside the cake. As soon as she was ready, he snapped the photo and handed it back to her.

She hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much. It's amazing."

"I hope it tastes as good as it looks."

"I'm certain it will, because you made it."

"Let's dig in then." He cut four slices off the top most tier, moving the knife slowly and gently so as not to mess up the decorations on the lower two tier. He passed plates around, laden with strawberry cake and a few plastic forks followed.

Flynn passed a plate to Rita and retrieved another for himself from Yuri. They pulled a few stray chairs around the table and sat down to enjoy the cake. Yuri was an amazing baker, and given a recipe and the ingredients, the results were always delicious.

"Sorry it wasn't much."

"No. It was more than I asked for. Thank you. And thank you all so much for helping out tonight. It really means a lot to me."

"It was nothing," Flynn said, even if the ache in his feet said differently.

Yuri packed the cake back up in a box, humming to himself slightly, which Flynn knew was something he only did when he was in a good mood.

"It's about time that we went home. I'm sure that school maintenance wants to get the building locked up for the night," Estelle took the cake box and she and Rita started for the door. "Good night. Have a safe trip home and we'll see you on Monday, okay?"

"You too." Yuri grabbed his coat and he and Flynn quickly rearranged the tables before they headed for the parking lot.

Yuri's bike, a simple black street bike, sat chained in the rack waiting for him. The rain had since gotten heavier, coming down in sheets of heavy, fast drops that soaked them both very quickly while Yuri fumbled for the key to his bike lock.

"Let me give you a ride home," Flynn spoke up, getting tired very quickly of the rain in his eyes.

"Okay." Yuri knelt to unlock his bike anyway.

"Just leave your bike here. It'll be fine."

"And give someone the chance to steal my sweet ride? No way."

Flynn couldn't help but smile at the sarcasm there, as refreshing as it was, and finally, he helped Yuri get the bike out of its lock and they carried it toward Flynn's car that was parked in one of the nearby lots. He couldn't blame him for wanting to bring the bike along. It was his main method of transportation when Flynn couldn't drive him somewhere, and it was likely that he couldn't afford to buy a second one if something happened to this one.

Unlocking the bike had been the first problem, getting it into the backseat of Flynn's car in the pouring rain was another challenge entirely.

They twisted and turned the handlebars and the wheels to try and make it fit in the back of Flynn's sedan, but they had little luck. Finally, Yuri got around on the other side and shimmed it through with Flynn's help, and although it looked as though it had been in a terrible accident there in the backseat, it was in.

As quickly as they could manage, they got in the front seats, not that speed mattered much about how wet they were going to be because it was already too late. They were both soaked through and through.

Flynn looked over to Yuri, whose long, dark hair was plastered in clumps to his face and neck and dripping with water. He tried to suppress a snicker, covering his mouth, but Yuri heard it anyway, and turned to look at him.

"What's so funny?"

"You look like a wet cat." As soon as he said that, the laughter came rolling out of him in waves and for the first time, Flynn didn't feel like he was walking on eggshells around Yuri. This interaction felt natural.

"Yeah, well you look like a drowned rat." Yuri chuckled a little, too, and pushed a lock of his wet hair out of his face. He looked over at Flynn again, and started laughing harder. "Your hair's all-" He choked back a laugh and turned the rear view mirror to Flynn, "You look ridiculous."

Flynn got a good look at himself in the mirror. Yuri was right. His normally spiking hair had partially flattened out in spots, while the other spikes were left drooping. He got a pretty good laugh out of that too. They both did, and for a long moment, there was nothing but their combined laughter filling the once empty and quiet car.

Of course, this felt natural. Here, there was no dividing line between the Yuri he called his childhood friend and the Yuri he loved, because they were in fact one and the same. He had retrieved the shoe because he loved Yuri, but he loved Yuri as his friend first and foremost. Their friendship came before all else, and somewhere he had forgotten that. And right now, they were learning how to be friends again. That had to come before anything else. At least this moment was a step in the right direction.


End file.
